These Ten Years
by vonivonivonikay
Summary: What if the "Stranger after Ten Years" wasn't just a dream? Shinichi finds himself lost in a future where nothing went right… Until he discoverers a new ally in Ran. ShinRan/CoRan [Chap 3: Q&A] Long time no write!
1. Still for your love

_Hey all! I'm pretty new to writing fanfiction. I've read a whole lot though. Some of my favourite ShinRan/CoRan fics are __When Pandora's Box Is Opened __by mangaluva and __the __I'm Already There __series by Becky Tailweaver__._

_Thanks for your interest in this story. It's an idea I've had for __ages__… __I started writing it back in 2013, let it sit for two years and only now am I beginning to publish it!_

_I've always loved the the 9th OVA "Stranger after Ten Years", and I wished that it showed more of what the future would be like for the characters if things had gone as Haibara had said. Thus, this fic was born._

_I did change a few things, though, such as in this AU the Black Organisation has already been taken down._

_I hope you enjoy! If you do, shoot me a short review, it always makes my day. :)_

_Obligatory disclaimer, for tradition's sake: I don't own Detective Conan. This is a purely fan-made work that does not intend to breach copyright etc. etc._

* * *

"Because…"

His hands trembled across his cursed glasses.

"Because…"

Through the reflections in the glass, he could see Ran's tearstained face.

Violently, he ripped the glasses from his face.

He had made up his mind. He would no longer let them separate him from the girl… the woman he loved.

"Because _I'm Kudo Shinichi_!" A mix of desperation and conviction rushing through his veins, he continued.

"So please, don't get married!"

The room stood still for what seemed like an eternity. Shinichi felt himself shudder at what he had just done.

Against every instinct, he had shed the one mask that he had vowed never to take off. Especially not in front of Ran. She was the reason he started this masquerade in the first place. But oddly enough, she was now the one with the most to gain by knowing the truth… or so Shinichi had hoped.

Shinichi couldn't let Ran marry Dr. Araide. It was a mistake. Yes, he was intelligent, rich and sensitive, all amiable qualities, but he wasn't supposed to marry Ran.

She was supposed to marry Kudo Shinichi… right?

Just this once, Shinichi let himself be selfish.

"Ever since you became a high-schooler, you've really started to look just like him…" Ran smiled bitterly.

"I don't just look like him, I _am_ him!" Shinichi protested.

"Thank you…" Ran gazed at him distantly. "Thank you for saying that to make me feel better."

"But…" She brushed past his hand, gently taking his glasses. "I've made up my mind." She carefully slid his glasses off.

"I've waited for him for ten years, after all. I can wait another ten just fine. Tomorrow, I'll go tell Dr. Araide that I won't be marrying him."

Shinichi felt the breath catch in his throat. Time had treated Ran well. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, but her voice had a softer, more mature quality that he had never heard from her before. Ran smiled genuinely into his eyes.

After all these years, she was still loyal to him.

Shinichi fell in love all over again.

It was too late to go back; he needed to tell Ran who he really is. He was never going back to the torture of lying to her face every day. She had waited ten years for him. Being honest now was the least he could do.

"Ran, I really am-"

A bolt of pain screamed through his chest, stopping his words mid-sentence. He clasped at his chest, toppling down onto the floor. This pain was familiar…

Shinichi heard Ran calling his other name as he drifted unconscious.

* * *

When Shinichi opened his eyes, he found himself in a soft bed… Although his head ached, he managed to recognise his surroundings as his old bedroom. Light softly streamed in through the gaps in the curtains. He could hear birds in the trees below, and the faint hum of cars in the distance. He hadn't slept here in a long time.

Still wearing his glasses and school uniform, he sat up slowly. His body ached all over. Yesterday had been a big day…

Yesterday?

Shinichi quickly tried to remember what had happened. He had taken a trial antidote to the Apotoxin, and had somehow ended up in the future. He had run around looking for Ran all day, then found her back at his old house and collapsed.

Could the antidote have worn off? He quickly held up his hands in front of his face. No, these weren't children's hands. He was still _himself_.

Shinichi smiled briefly, before remembering what had happened between him and Ran.

He had told her who he was. _She knew the truth_.

Shinichi was both terrified and jubilant at that thought. She hadn't believed him, but Shinichi didn't mind.

_That could be easily remedied._


	2. I still believe

Shinichi timidly made his way down the stairs. It had been a long time since he'd last woke up in this house, and in this body. Memories of better times flooded his memory with every trinket and photograph that decorated the vast mansion.

He couldn't help but notice that not much had changed over the past ten years. There were no signs of Subaru-san's presence, or anyone's presence for that matter. It felt remarkably unlived in, but only a fine layer of dust coated the shelves and tables. Someone had obviously kept up with the cleaning.

_Ran… I have to tell her. Ten years is _far_ too long for anyone to wait._

Halfway down the stairs, a familiar smell wafted up from the kitchen.

_… Curry?_

Making his way to the source of the aroma, he was greeted by the sight of Ran stirring a large pot of curry. The Kudo family's very old rice cooker also seemed to be functioning, letting off a slight clicking noise.

He must have been staring for too long as Ran finally noticed him.

"Good morning, Conan-kun!" She beamed at him.

_Conan-kun… So she really doesn't believe me._

"'Morning…" He returned uneasily.

"How are you feeling?" Ran asked, noticing that he looked somewhat uncomfortable. "You had a pretty bad fever last night... You seemed to be in a lot of pain, and you said some funny things, too. You seemed fine once I put you to bed, though."

_Oh, so that's how I ended up upstairs…_

After a moment of silence, Shinichi gulped loudly. Sudden second thoughts flooded his mind. _Should I tell her? What if she doesn't believe me?_

_… What if she _does_ believe me? What then?_

But Shinichi knew his answer.

_We'll figure it out. Together._

Shinichi took a step towards Ran, pushing aside his doubts.

"Ran, what I told you last night was the truth."

* * *

Ran stopped stirring the curry.

"Conan-kun, what are you saying? Don't keep making jokes like that…" Her dark laugh echoed throughout the kitchen. _Why is he acting like this? Is his illness worse than I thought?_

"No, Ran, it's not a joke. I'm not lying to you any more. Please, hear me out." His eyes glimmered with a determination that was unexpected from her adopted little brother.

"I really am Kudo Shinichi."

Ran's heart skipped a beat. A part of her wished that it were true, wanting nothing more than to have her Shinichi return to her, even as Conan-kun.

But she knew it was impossible. It happened in the realm of fairy tales and sappy movies. Not here.

"Conan-kun, you know as well as anyone that Shinichi is _dead_." The last word came out a bit rougher than she'd hoped. She didn't mean to upset him.

Ran was stunned as she noticed the look on Conan-kun's face.

"I'm… he's… dead…?"

_Why is he so shocked? He was the one who gave me the news all those years ago…_

Conan-kun suddenly laughed a quiet, bitter laugh. "So that's what I had to tell you…" He muttered.

"… I'm surprised that you're willing to wait for a dead man."

Ran was taken aback. Conan-kun, who had always been so supportive of her feelings for Shinichi, was suddenly ridiculing her?

"Of course I waited! He made a promise to me back when we were in high school, that no matter what, even if he died…"

"He would come back to you, right?" Conan-kun smiled at her.

_He remembers, too…_

"I know it was probably just something he said to make me feel better, but I couldn't help but believe it." Ran sighed wistfully into the brown pot of curry. "All these years, I've dreamt that he would come back…"

_But that was never going to happen._

"Thank you for trying to make me feel better, but you don't need to pretend to be Shinichi, Conan-kun." Ran straightened her apron and turned off the flames. "Forget about him, let's eat some lunch."

"Let's not."

Conan grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the kitchen.

"Conan-kun, where are we going?!" Ran protested as they made their way to the front entrance.

"To Agasa's place. Some things need to be cleared up, for both of our sakes..."

* * *

_Thank you so much for the lovely reviews!_

_Kameo1, thank you so much for your kind words! Shinichi will work it out for sure, but it might take some time. It's a complicated situation! :P_

_Frozen-Infinity, 'challenge accepted' indeed! Thank you so much. Shinichi will convince Ran, but he's dragging his heels a bit haha ;) He's not really a 'to-the-point' kinda guy, is he?_


	3. Q&A

_Heya, sorry for keeping you waiting! I started this chapter in April 2015… and here we are in March 2016. And I first started writing it in July 2013. I am kind of very very VERY slow._

_Anyways, here's a continuation of this sappy fic! I still have lots more planned, muahaha. Stay tuned._

* * *

Ran wasn't sure she understood Conan-kun anymore.

Ran knew that Conan-kun has always been a sensitive, intelligent and independent child. Ever since he became a part of their family at age six, she realised he was mature for his age. She knew he loved to read mystery novels and play soccer with his friends. Even a decade ago he certainly had far more patience than his peers, and when dealing with criminals he would act calm and collected even in the face of what seemed to be certain death. She couldn't help but notice how strongly he felt about her, and for her the sibling-bond between them was palpable. Whenever she was in danger, it always seemed to be little Conan-kun who saved her.

And it was Conan-kun supported her during her darkest hours. Whenever she felt depressed (usually about Shinichi) he was there for her. When she heard of Shinichi's death, it was Conan-kun who held her as she cried. She could tell he was crying inside, too. He was always supportive of her relationship with Shinichi, through the thick and thin. After all the two of them had been through, she thought she understood Edogawa Conan-kun.

Now she wasn't sure anymore.

Why was Conan-kun claiming to be Shinichi? If this was his idea of cheering her up, it was certainly a strange way to go about it. The adolescent years are a time in which kids experiment with different personas. Perhaps he was just being a teenager?

Either way, Ran thought Conan-kun of all people would understand this joke was in bad taste.

Because Shinichi was _dead_, right?

Somewhere deep down, Ran felt old suspicions begin to tug at her again...

* * *

"Well, hello there."

Haibara opened the door, still dressed in her pajamas. It was a Saturday morning and she had no classes, after all.

After all that happened yesterday at school, she wasn't entirely surprised by the sight of Kudou-kun and Mouri-san on her doorstep. Neither of them looked comfortable in the other's presence.

"Haibara," Kudou-kun spoke. "I need you to tell us what happened during the last decade."

_Well, this is certainly an interesting start to the weekend_…

Haibara sighed. "Something really did happen yesterday, didn't it?"

"Yesterday?" Mouri-san quavered, realising that there was a subtext here she wasn't reading. "Last decade? What's going on?"

Haibara led the pair into Agasa's living room. "You seemed rather confused yesterday at school. Does this have anything to do with that?"

"Yeah." Kudou-kun spoke solemnly, ruffling his hair in frustration. "I still have no memory of what's happened over the last ten years."

"What?" Mouri-san interjected timidly.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Kudou-kun paused, remembering the string of events. He glanced in Ran's direction before regaining his composure. "I remember getting a call from you about a temporary antidote that you wanted to test out. Something about it being as good a time as ever to take it, seeing as I had a cold.

"I ran here, listened to you lecture me for a bit and then took it." Kudou-kun paused again. "When I woke up, ten years had passed. Sure beats me how that's even possible. Well, it's not really any more farfetched than, uh, shrinking, I guess."

Mouri-san's face went pale as a ghost. Haibara noticed her mouthing the words 'antidote' and 'shrinking'.

_No memory of the last ten years_, Haibara thought. _What is going on?_

"What was the serial number on the capsule you took?"

"05-01."

"… That was indeed one I produced when we were in first grade. If I remember correctly, it worked as planned, and you met Mouri-san and even ran into a murder along the way. So, nothing out of the ordinary. Do you remember anything else about-"

"Would someone _please_ tell me what's going on?!" Mouri-san interrupted desperately.

* * *

_"I know it's not fair, Haibara, but I can't tell her the truth after all that's happened."_

_"Kudo-kun, what happened to you?!" Haibara screamed. She wondered why she was so angry, but kept going anyway, her sense of loyalty to Mouri-san crushing her own aching heart. Choking back a sob, she continued. "You fought so hard for this, are you planning to keep her in the dark for the rest of your life?"_

This is all wrong...

_She glanced at the weary boy. His eyes reflected none of the warmth and vibrancy she was so accustomed to seeing from him._

_"I'm already dead to her."_

This is all wrong...

* * *

This was finally a chance to make things right.

She was going to take it. With some luck, he would too.

Haibara glanced tentatively at Kudou-kun, who gave her a short, solemn nod.

"Mouri-san, Edogawa-kun is Kudou-kun."


End file.
